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Nicholas was afraid of the dark outside his door, the bushes where the giant bugs live, and the underside of manhole covers. His dad was not afraid of anything.

Nicholas wants to be as brave as his dad, but he needs help. That’s why he needs a dinosaur. After all, dinosaurs like the dark, bugs are nothing to them, and they eat manhole covers for lunch (and everything under them for dinner).

With his toy dinosaur, Nicholas can scale tall walls, swim in deep water, even score a goal against the huge goalie everyone calls Gorilla. But when the dinosaur goes missing, everything is scary again.

Luckily, his dad knows that even the bravest people can get scared, and it’s okay to ask for help facing your fears. It’s just guy stuff.

A family classic in the making from the dream team of Newbery Honor-winner Gennifer Choldenko and Caldecott Medal-winner Dan Santat.

★ "[Choldenko's] knowing, understated storytelling and Santat’s warm, expressive spreads give full credence to the fears that weigh on kids, as well as the presences—both real and imagined—that can help alleviate them."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

★ "[Choldenko's] knowing, understated storytelling and Santat’s warm, expressive spreads give full credence to the fears that weigh on kids, as well as the presences—both real and imagined—that can help alleviate them."—Kirkus, starred review

★ "Intertwined with the themes of fear and bravery is a strong father-son relationship [. . . .] Teachers, librarians, and parents will find the book provides an opening for discussion about fears, security, and how their dads have loved and helped them."—School Library Connection,starred review

"Choldenko excels in creating believable characters whose empathy and emotional quotients match their other successes. . . This works as a story about bravery, as well as a paean to dads." —Booklist

"This is a modern story reminiscent of Dumbo and his “magic” feather that readers will enjoy as they explore the ideas of bravery, ability, and what lies inside each of us."—School Library Journal

"With the rediscovery of Nick's dino, his bravery returns as well, only this time, Nick isn't the only one who knows his secret, and he knows deep down that all guys are afraid sometimes [. . . .] Dads get it: being brave takes work . . . and a dinosaur."—Publishers Weekly

"[T]he boy-friendliness of Choldenko’s text is matched by Santat’s robust paintings that give the tiny toy dinosaur life—and heft!—as he appears super-dino-style on the scene as needed. And while Dad is a reliable, strong presence, what we don’t see is Dad’s face (except for his beard), allowing young readers to imagine whatever father figure they need in his features."—Horn Book Reviews

About the Author

Gennifer Choldenko is the New York Times bestselling and Newbery Honor Award-winning author of ten children's books, including A Giant Crush, illustrated by Melissa Sweet, and Al Capone Does My Shirts, Al Capone Shines My Shoes, and Al Capone Does My Homework. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family.

Dad and the Dinosaur has a lot of good things going for it. Newbery Honor-winner Gennifer Choldenko and Caldecott Medal-winner Dan Santat are equally paired. The story is sound and the illustrations are bold and creative.

I do, however, wish that the message at the end didn’t allude to bravery being “guy stuff.” While I’m sure this wasn’t the author’s intent, it does make the book a harder sell for girls, who also face fears and like dinosaurs. As is, I’m not sure how I would explain this to my daughter.

The publisher’s suggest age range is 5-8 and I think the book runs a little younger than that. If not for the “guy stuff” issue, I’d read this to my newly 3-year-old now.

*I received an advanced reader copy from by the publisher in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

My son was given this book as a present - I'm glad I read it myself before we read it together because I will definitely be returning it.

To start with the positives, the illustrations are beautiful. Rich and evocative, the illustrations really bring the story to life.

However, every element of the actual story has major issues. The plot is as follows: Unlike his brave father who he is named after, Nicholas is afraid of lots of different things. Luckily, he has a dinosaur that he keeps with him which allows him to be brave because dinosaurs aren't afraid of anything. Nicholas loses his dinosaur and his fears return. His father notices that something is wrong saying, "It's okay to be afraid. All guys are now and then." Nicholas confesses to his father, "I lost my dinosaur. He's the brave one. Not me." His father then says, "Let's go find him, then." On th their way out the door, his mother asks where they are going and his father says, "It's guy stuff" and leaves. They find the dinosaur and Nicholas returns to his bed, but not before he tells his father, "Don't tell Mom." "Course not," his father replies.

Let's start with the central conceit of this story. Of course, all children have loveys that are important and special to them and provide security in a crazy world. However, that Nicholas' father responds to Nicholas' confession about his dinosaur being the brave one by immediately saying "Let's go find him" without any conversation about how Nicholas is also brave or perhaps Nicholas and the dinosaur work together is just a complete missed opportunity.

The secondary and more emotional plotline of this story revolves around the idea that Nicholas wants to be brave like his father. The issue here is not that Nicholas wants to be brave like his father, it's that this is treated as though this is an assumed part of being a boy. Indeed, this would have been a whole different book if the central character had been a girl or if Nicholas had wanted to be brave like his mother. The overwhelmingly maleness of this text is a real issue, not in the least because it so strongly associates being male with being brave. Nicholas' dad's assertion that "All guys are {scared} now and then" only serves to make the point that it's not okay to be scared more than now or then. In addition, because Nicholas doesn't want to share his feelings with his mother and his dad says "guy stuff" when his wife asks what's going on, the mother is completely shut out of her son's emotional life.

This book was just such a missed opportunity on so many levels. The author says she wrote this book to celebrate all loving dads, but all it actually does is teach boys that they can only be scared some of the time and that their mothers can't possibly understand their emotions.

I fell in love with this story and hope every child is as lucky as Little Nick to have such a wonderful father. This story is modern, sweet, not preaching, properly gives credit to the father as a head of the family. The young boy is taught to share his fears and is rewarded with support and guidance.I am a Catholic homeschool mother of 5 and this is the man I married. He's a modern guy with traditional values. We always cherish his role in the home and we're blessed by his strength, quiet ways, tenderness and wisdom with the children's problems. It's incredible to stumble on such a gem by accident at the library. I am just too excited to support this author/illustrator and add this book to my boys' library. Wonderful for families for families-moms, dads, girls and boys will enjoy the beauty of this book. Lifts the males up and doesn't put the females down. We used this today for our summer book club meeting opener. The girls loved it, too!

We picked this book up at the library. I've learned my lesson, and will pre-read before reading anything else to my kids in the future. It's a tale of bravery being a "guy thing," more importantly "guys" must be brave, and hide their fears at all costs -- even lying to their mothers and using a talisman to feel brave. Apparently moms know nothing about bravery, and apparently we need to train our boys to surpres their emotions. While this is a horrible book for girls to read, this is a damaging book for boys. I felt dirty finishing this book. Yuck!!

This book just became a favorite, and it’s the perfect choice for Father’s Day! Big Nick isn’t afraid of anything, but little Nick is. Thanks to a toy dinosaur, he can climb rock walls and score soccer goals. Life is good till the dinosaur disappears on the soccer field. Fear devours Nick. He can’t eat or sleep. Then Dad gets home, knows something’s wrong, and gets Nick to talk. It may be dark, but the Nicks return to the soccer field. The back cover sums up this book, and great fathers— “DADS GET IT. THEY JUST GET IT.” This Father’s Day, thanks to all the dads who get it. And fix it.

Call me contrary, but I thought this book a little weird, considering all of the mega-talent on board. Boy is full of fears; the possession of a toy dinosaur gives him bravery; loss of dinosaur devastates him; understanding dad asks him what's wrong. When he explains, DAD GETS OUT THE FLASHLIGHT, DRIVES HIM BACK TO THE SOCCER FIELD, AND THEY LOOK TILL THEY FIND THE DINOSAUR. And THEN everything is better? Sure, it's great the kid's dad is so understanding, and our hero probably will manage to go away to college without the dinosaur, but it wasn't the ending I expected. Do dads like this really exist?

By contrast, when Pout-Pout Fish forgets his snoozy-snuggly on his vacation, he remembers he still holds it in his heart, and can relax and enjoy his trip. I'm not saying Pout-Pout Fish Far, Far From Home is the better book.